Underground
by The Cookie Lady
Summary: A conspiracy with the Romulan Underground sends Kirk on a secret mission. Author's first attempt.


Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I am a new writer looking for advice on   
writing Star Trek. Please C&C, and please be critical. Please send in-depth   
critiques to doscher@bellsouth.net.  
  
Thank you.  
  
  
  
Underground  
  
  
Jessie Cooper stood over the cliffs overlooking the Romulan desert. As she   
watched its three moons rise above, she thought, not for the first time, why it   
was the Romulan Underground and not the Federation that rescued her from the   
Romulan government. She wondered, also not for the first time, how it was the   
Romulans knew where the meetings were being held in the first place.   
  
Dealing with the Romulan Underground was not an easy thing to accomplish. It   
had taken years to gain the trust of T'mar and his followers. Not very many   
people knew of the meetings. Not very many people are trusted. In the six   
months since T'mar had broken her out of the government-run prison on Romulus,   
she wondered about these things a lot. She knew all the Questions, but she   
didn't know the answers. one thing she did know was she had to find out.  
  
She was healthy now, not like when they brought her here six months ago.   
Romulan torture was not messy but very effective. She was on the brink of   
death, but these people, these Romulans who lived deep in the caves that were   
even deeper in the desert took care of her. They nursed her wounds, kept her   
warm, and fed her. They, in fact, saved her life. They all knew if they were   
discovered with her, they would all be killed, but they didn't even question   
T'mar when he brought her into their camp. They were not what you were brought   
up to believe, that Romulans lie, and they didn't want to kill anyone.   
  
After spending six months with these people, Jessie knew they were the future.   
But she also knew there would be no future for these people if she didn't find   
out who was behind the leak to the Romulan government.   
  
It was time to go...  
  
  
"Good morning, Captain."  
  
As Captain Kirk stepped onto the bridge of the Enterprise, these words echoed   
from everyone. Kirk didn't know what was so good about it. It was just another   
day of boring patrol and star charting. It was so slow lately he wanted to   
scream, but that was not his crew's fault, so he just muttered, "Good morning,"   
and went on to signing orders for the everday working of the ship.   
  
He wished something would happen, anything. He punched the intercom.  
  
"Scotty, status."  
  
"Everything down here's purring like a kitten, Captain," Scotty replied in his   
deep Scottish brogue.  
  
"Lieutenant Uhura, anything over communications?"  
  
"No problems here, Captain."  
  
"We are also going in the same direction as before," Chekov chimed before the   
Captain had a chance to ask him too!  
  
"Very funny, Mister Chekov," smirked Captain Kirk. Kirk knew his crew. He   
knew Chekov was not being insubordinate, he was just trying to let off some   
stress with humor and letting him know they were bored too.  
  
Just then, Uhura said, "Captain, we are receiving a message from Starfleet."  
  
"Put it on visual, Lieutenant Uhura," Captain Kirk said as he returned his   
chair to face the viewscreen.   
  
"Admiral Nagura on visual, Captain."  
  
"Jim, how are you?" Admiral Nagura always had a soft spot for James T. Kirk.   
He knew his father and was there for his whole career. He liked to think he   
guided him to where he was today, Captain. Nagura didn't know it for sure, but   
he was right.   
  
"And what do I owe the honor, Admiral?" Jim Kirk smiled when he saw Admiral   
Nagura on the screen.   
  
"Oh, I just hadn't talked to you in awhile, so when this mission came up with   
your name written all over it, I figured I would kill two birds with one stone."  
  
"What mission?" Kirk asked with more life in his voice than he had had in   
months.   
  
"It's not the Romulan government we're worried about, Jim," Nagura said, trying   
to say his next sentence the best way he could. "We think the Romulan   
Underground has Jessie."  
  
"How?" Jim asked. "I was to understand that the Romulan Underground went into   
hiding after Jessie was taken by the Romulan government."  
  
"They did," Nagura said. "But we have reports that she was rescued by their   
leader and brought to their camp. That would be pretty risky knowing how much   
information Jessie knows and Romulan persuasion methods. Right now they are   
just reports, but I'm hoping if they are true, they might just want to get her   
home. And since we still don't know where the leak is, I want someone I trust   
and that Jessie would trust to be in the vicinity if something just happens to   
go wrong. And if nothing comes of the rumors it can't be as boring as what you   
are doing now."  
  
  
When T'mar looked up from his desk and saw Jessie standing there, he could tell   
just by the lookin her eyes that she had made a decision. He knew this day   
would come sooner or later. Knew one day that she would be leaving. He wanted   
her to make that decision in her own time. Wanted her to know he trusted her   
enough that she could stay here as long as she wanted to or needed to. He had   
needed her too. He needed to reinforce to his people that there were humans   
they could trust so that their fight for peace could survive. Jessie was the   
only human he ever felt he could trust. Hell, she was probably the only human   
he could *ever* trust.   
  
In the first years since they met and started their meetings, she had never lied   
to him or broken a promise even if it meant going against her orders to save   
their trust. Then, six months ago, when they government showed up and their   
meeting, she risked her life and was wounded and captured while saving the live   
of T'par, his nine year old son who had stoed away on T'mar's ship because he   
thought it would be exciting.   
  
Yes, this human he trusted. That is why he risked breaking her out of prison   
and bringing her here to the camp.   
  
"You have come to a decision." It was not a question. He knew. He just needed   
confirmation.   
  
"Yes," Jessie said. "I think the time has come."  
  
"Yes, said T'mar. "I have sensed this also. You have become restless."  
  
"I need to find out who did this to me, to us, to all of us. Your people and   
mine. I need to find out who betrayed me, who ruined all the years of work we   
put in to get as far as we had gotten before it was all ruined."  
  
"It was not all ruined," T'mar broke in. "You are still trusted. You would not   
be here if you were not."  
  
"T'mar, it is not your people's trust in me I'm worried about. It is my trust   
in my people. I don't know if I can trust the people I used to trust."  
  
"Jessie, there must be someone you know, someone you trust with your heart, your   
soul, not just your head."  
  
"Yes," Jessie smiled. "There is someone..."  



End file.
